This is where I struggle with the whole thing frankly. The Chiefs are a very talented team who but for a perfect storm of issues shouldn’t have been close to the first pick in the draft. They now have that golden opportunity and seem to be on the verge of using it to make a lateral move. I have no idea how good Luke Joeckel is or will become (or any of the other tackles for that matter) but I do know he is still just a tackle and tackles do not win games; particularly if you had a good player at that position anyway. Even if Joeckel becomes the best left tackle in the league, the difference between him and Branden Albert is probably five to 10 additional QB disruptions a year on 500 passing attempts – so a best case scenario gives you a 1-2% improvement – is that really great value?

With the rookie wage cap expect the first pick to save Kansas City maybe $2M a year on Albert, pick up at very best a marginally better player and net them a second round pick (which as we know from Khaled’s recent Draft Grader series, is still a lottery).

Call me wild, but for a team as loaded in many positions as the Chiefs, that looks like a singularly unambitious strategy.

The pick should still be a pass rusher or a QB. Albert should be signed long term and the pick should be something that makes more of an impact. It really is that simple.

It won't happen though. It should, and it won't, and that is a shame. But worry not, the casual idiot Chiefs fans around here are excited so the Chiefs will still sell tickets and that's pretty much all this franchise cares about. Winning is a distant second.

The pick should still be a pass rusher or a QB. Albert should be signed long term and the pick should be something that makes more of an impact. It really is that simple.

It won't happen though. It should, and it won't, and that is a shame. But worry not, the casual idiot Chiefs fans around here are excited so the Chiefs will still sell tickets and that's pretty much all this franchise cares about. Winning is a distant second.

Got ya something, buddy.

__________________Kaepernick is this years pat white. Thin, gimmick offense and doesn't possess an nfl arm. The ncaa constantly regurgitates clones of past players and amazingly enough, tricks some people into thinking they're better than their cloned half. Kaepernick was a complete waste of a senior bowl qb spot. A better qb will come from the east/west shrine or whatever they're calling it now...count on it

i agree with the other Chiefs posters. Joeckel is a lateral move. Albert is already there and playing in the good/really good category. when the Dolphins drafted Long, they needed a LT. Carey was a fine RT, but the Dolphins needed to upgrade the LT position. the Chiefs aren't in the same boat at all. they had 2 pretty good starting OTs. no one looked at this roster and thought that our starting OTs needed to be upgraded immediately. destroying the continuity of an OLine that relatively played well under some extreme situations last year definitely wasn't the answer. cutting Winston created a hole to fill. trading Albert will create a hole to fill. a 2-14 team should be filling holes not creating them where we didn't have 1.

and this isn't a draft Geno thing either. **** the QBs. this is a fan watching his team get torn apart in places that weren't needed. we didn't need Joeckel/Fisher. now, we do. i don't see the use in cutting or trading a player that is a good capable player to only have to replace that player with the #1 pick. thats not a move that makes any sense. you should be using #1 picks to improve your team, not replace players you got rid of in the last few weeks.

I would have been perfectly fine with them F'ing Albert and trading him for a 2nd rounder if they didn't trust his health, wanted to save cap space, and liked Stephenson as the LT (and kept Winston). That would have made sense, but isn't the case. Reid wants fatties. He's going to put fatties all along the line and they aren't going to be able to pass block...and Reid is going to pass it 40 times a game. It's dumb.

This was an easy situation. The Chiefs had a Super Bowl caliber line (better than a lot of teams that have one in recent history) and needed a QB and an competent offensive system. I somewhat trust Reid's offense, but I don't think they really upgraded the QB position and they worsened their position overall.

Once again, they chose Alex "check-down" smith to run an offense like this. Alex Smith also has a tendency to take alot of sacks, and the chiefs are thinking about pairing him with a rookie LT (instead of an experienced one like Albert). Nothing beats a combo like that paired with 7 step drops (slow developing plays)!

Chiefs are likely trading a former 15th overall pick (albert) for a 2nd round pick. They are likely taking the "safe" pick, a LT #1 overall. This is very similar to what Parcells did in Miami with Jake Long. Hindsight shows that it was the wrong move.

The chiefs have made similar moves in the past with Tyson Jackson and Glen Dorsey that eventually lead to the dismisal of Pioli and Carl Peterson, respectively.

At this point it just looks like the "new" regime is like the "old" regime, and the chiefs will repeat the process again in 4-5 yrs.

Oh I know. The Chiefs should be resigning Albert long term. I was asking nepg because he is a notorious defender of all things Pioli/Cassel and I was wondering if he would be hating on these moves if his favorites were still around.

I don't agree with the apparent strategy as a whole here, but I'll stop short of a wholesale condemnation of the moves. I think there could be a couple of things at play here:

1. Albert appears to want "between 8 and 9 million a year" on a long-term deal. That's pretty rich. I think Albert is a good player, but I don't think he's that good. He has to be willing to sign with the Chiefs for them to do a deal, and if they think they want to pay $7M/yr, this trade exploration is a great way for Albert and his agent to see what his market value is without losing him. Maybe now that they see the Fins balking too, that reality check will make it more likely that he signs long-term. I'm not 100% convinced the Chiefs actually want to trade him.

2. If I'm thinking from a pure draft strategy standpoint and I want to trade down, I have to appear that I'm going to take something that people really want. Most projections I have seen recently show 3 OTs going in the first 7 picks. If I want a top 12 team to trade up to #1 (realistically, that's the trade market), I have to give the impression that I am taking the player(s) everyone wants. JAX looks like they are either going pass rusher or QB, so the Chiefs can field offers for people that want to jump in front of the Jags or they can take a deal from someone that wants a tackle. If the Chiefs truly don't want a tackle, they are playing this very well.

I think the Chiefs still want to keep Albert at a reasonable price and trade down. Just my opinion, no idiot in the press to back it up. Albert has now seen 2 teams that don't think he's worth what he wants. 3 NFL teams that might otherwise be in the market for a LT are going to draft one with a top 10 pick this week, so cross them off the list for 2014 free agency. I won't be shocked in the least if the Chiefs end the week by signing Albert long term and either trading down or drafting Star or Jordan (Jordan makes me nervous). Not saying it's going to happen, but I'm just not convinced that everything is as it currently seems.

The pick should still be a pass rusher or a QB. Albert should be signed long term and the pick should be something that makes more of an impact. It really is that simple.

It won't happen though. It should, and it won't, and that is a shame. But worry not, the casual idiot Chiefs fans around here are excited so the Chiefs will still sell tickets and that's pretty much all this franchise cares about. Winning is a distant second.

Pass rusher sure but there is no QB worth the #! pick so it would be dumb to just reach out and get one especially since you could get one later.

They won 5 less games than the Chargers. How did they get better than the Chargers? By trading for a QB that averages 11,5 TDs per season?

The Chiefs horrendously underachieved last year, while the Chargers played at about their level and probably are entering a massive rebuild. I think the Chargers have a greater chance to pick top 5 in the next 2-3 years than the Chiefs do.

I would prefer Fisher over Joeckel, so if it turns out to be him I'll be happy. It all depends on Albert. If they decide to keep him, I want to go Dion. If we trade him, it has to be an OT, so I want Fisher.

I'm still holding out hope the entire off-season was because they didn't want to pay Albert and are in love with Stephenson at LT. That's the only way anything they've done doesn't just look completely ********.

I'm still holding out hope the entire off-season was because they didn't want to pay Albert and are in love with Stephenson at LT. That's the only way anything they've done doesn't just look completely ********.

yup. heck, the chiefs could always invest part of the savings of having the franchise tag off the cap by picking up Bryant Mckinnie. That would allow Stephenson a full yr at RT, and allow Alex Smith an experienced LT protecting him.

I just cant believe how people are overlooking Stephenson. He has the measurables and athletic ability of Lane Johnson (both OU grads), and played 6 games last yr at LT.